JACKSON, Miss. (AP) - Mississippi is preparing to start a lottery in the next few months, and the state revenue commissioner says people will not have to pay sales tax to play the game of chance.
Commissioner Herb Frierson tells the Clarion Ledger that current laws and regulations do not impose a sales tax on lottery tickets.
House Bill 1576 died when lawmakers failed to consider it before a Wednesday deadline. It would have specified that no sales tax would be charged on the lottery.
Frierson, who is a former lawmaker, says the bill was not needed. He says lottery tickets are not considered tangible property but are evidence of a bet, and there’s no need to tax that.
Frierson has strong thoughts about lottery tickets, though. He calls them “a tax on stupidity.”
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